Groundbreaking
by The Bad Apple
Summary: A kid ate a Logia Devil Fruit. And he goes on an adventure of his life. Full of Oc


Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

I'm a total newbie at writing. So, any constructive criticisme is welcome. If I got any of it wrong, please forgive and correct me.

Crossposted from SpaceBattles

* * *

"Hey, buddy," One of the two boys sitting on the corner table in a busy restaurant, with an excellent view of the entrance and the room, began. "Do you ever thinking of leaving this island?"

"Hmm?" The other one hmm'ed between huffs of his cigarette. "A few times, I guess. Why?"

"Just imagine it, blue water as far as the eyes can see, and of course, the freedom!" The black haired boy gestured enthusiastically.

His companion just snorted in amusement, "If they didn't kill you first." He said while shaking his head in disbelieve. His hair that he tied in a short bun swished left and right from the movement.

The first boy sighed, his enthusiasme dimmed. He wears a short-sleved black top and a brown trouser. He and his companion is a long time friend, has been since they were two orphaned kids who conscripted into becoming an errand boys for the gang that practically own the small town in a remote island located somewhere on east blue, named the Redstone Town and the Redstone Island, respectively.

_A boy, smiling,_ _"My name's Stern, what's your?"_

_"Jack."_

The gang- the Longhand- succeded in taking over the town by force of arms and the marines that supposed to patrol the area their island is located is led by a venal man who gladlyaccepted the Longhand's money and basically left the island's inhabitant to the tender mercy of the Longhand's leader, Greco.

The mayor couldn't do anything about it, either. So, they happily keep doing their bussiness, smuggling, protection racket, and many other crimes.

"I'm planning to escape when they aren't looking." He said after a lengthy pause. "Would you come with me?"

The other boy couldn't hide the surprise from showing on his face. "Are you serious, Jack?" He asked his friend.

"Of course I am." Jack replied annoyedly. "I'm always serious, Stern."

"Right." Stern deadpanned. "And how do you plan to do it?"

"I, uh, gonna steal a boat?" It came out more sounded like a question.

Stern sighed. "They are _so _going to kill us."

"Hey, have a little faith." Jack replied and then realized the implication of his friend words. "Wait, _us?_"

"Of course, I'm your friend, after all. Or should I say, your _only _friend." He said with a smirk and blowing the smoke from his cigarette to Jack's face.

"Hey, don't do that." Jack said annoyedly while waving his hands in front of his face to ward off the smoke. "It's not like you're any better."

It's not easy to find friends when you're an orphan outcast that is basically owned by the gang who controlled the island where you are growing up. Not much common ground with the other kids his age, you see.

Grinning, he replied. "Friends don't let their friends die alone." Stern said, answering Jack's earlier question.

Stunned, he searched his friend's face, looking for something. Whatever it is, though, he must've found it, for he, too, grinning wide in return.

"Right, let's do it today."

"Isn't this a bit too soon?"

"No, I mean, yes, but they wanted us to fetch this thing, whatever it is, from their 'friend', right?"

The reason why they're there, in the restaurant near the dock, is that they're ordered by one of Greco's lackey this morning to wait for someone to come there and give them some goods and then to bring it back.

"Right." Realization coming to him. "They didn't expecting us to be back before we got it."

"Exactly." Jack said.

"So, what are you waiting for? Let's go." Stern said, standing up.

"Wait." Jack said, raising his right hand to prevent Stern from leaving. "I suggest we take it with us."

Bewildered, but complying with Jack's request and sitting back on his chair, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what they ordered us to fetch, but i want it as a compensation for them forcing us to obey their every whimps all this years." Jack said angrily and glaring at nothing in particular. Just thinking about it succeded to make him fuming.

_"Clean this up, boy!"_

_"Useless!"_

"You do realize that if they caught us taking their stuff _and _escaping, they're not just gonna kill us, but also torture us before that, right?" Stern said, trying to convey just how serious he is.

But Jack just smile innocently. "Don't worry, they're not going to catch us. We'll be a long way from here before they realize we're gone."

"If you say so." Said Stern, unconvinced but unwilling to argue his point.

* * *

It's not long after that for someone to enter the restaurant and sweeping his eyes across the room. When his eyes met them, he goes straight to their table.

This fellow is a rough looking man, with unshaven and unfriendly face. He have a short, single-edged sword, and a gun on his person. And Jack pretty sure he must've a few concealed weapon, too.

The other patron on the restaurant keep their distance from him. And a few other glancing worriedly toward the entrance.

"You're the contact?" He asked gruffly. He must've been told of their description to come to their table straightaway.

"Yes, we are." Jack answered just as short.

"Here's the thing," he said, thrusting a small wooden chest toward them. "It's no small trouble to bring it all the way here."

"Ah, thank you." Stern said, trying to make up for his friend rudeness, and started to reaching out to take the chest. But, Jack snatched it away greedily before he could.

Giving Jack the stink eye, he told the man what they ordered to say after they received the goods by the lackey, "The payment is as usual."

He just grunted and leave just as swiftly as he came.

"Now, what?" Stern asked.

"Now," said Jack, face set on the chest. "Let's pack."

* * *

There's a little flat on the edge of town that Greco set aside for the two of them. They've been lived there since they can taking care of themselves independently. It's either showed that even Greco still have humanity left in him or he just can't bothered to do it himself. Though, Jack always think it was the last option.

Regardless, right now they're sitting in the living room, after they've had packing a few change of clothes, what money they posses, and other essential.

"A _fruit_." Jack said incredulously. "This is what they told us to get?"

After they'd opened the chest, they found a strange fruit inside, the fruit have brown color with many little spiral motif on it. It's doesn't look like any fruit they've ever seen before.

"Well, at least I can eat it." Mumble Jack angrily.

"Wait," said Stern, "Maybe it's poiso-"

Jack already proceed to do what he said.

Sighed, "Nevermind."

"Bwah," Jack recoiled in disgust. The fruit tasted terrible. With a taste like that, he'd not be surprised if it's turned out to be poisonous.

After rinse out his tongue with fresh water and waiting a bit to see if he'll suddenly drop dead, they concluded the fruit is not, in fact, poisonous.

They sighed in relief. It'd be very unfortunate if Jack just go and get himself killed before they even started their planned escape.

Their relief is cut short, however. From the outside, they heard quite a ruckus, the noise resembling many feet pounding on earth. Someone knocked on their front door, hard.

"Boy!" Someone shouted angrily. "Open the fucking door!"

"Shit." Curse Jack.

"It's Greco," said Stern, "How did he know!?" Fear and surprise evident on his face.

"Let's- the back door! Through the back door, come on!" Jack said, worried himself.

Grabbing their bag, the two boys fled, heart pounding hard because of fear.

However, four men intercepted them before they got far. One of them shouted, calling the other.

"They're here! In the back!"

Soon, they're surrounded by Greco's men. And, of course, the man himself. Greco is a middle-aged man with brown hair and freakishly long pair of hands. He wore a white shirt with brown coat that reached his knees. A brown sash crossed his waist where he keep his sword.

With a cocky smile, he addressed them, "Really, kids? And here I thought you're smart. Planning to escape on a crowded room? Amateurs." Jack just glared at him, saying nothing. Stern, meanwhile, fidgeted, his eyes moving frantically looking for a way to get out from the encirclement. Preferably, with their life intact.

"Now," said Greco, "Where's my fruit?"

"Oh," said Jack, the corner of his mouth lifted up. "I already ate it."

"You, damned brat! Do you know how much the thing price?"

"It's doesn't even tasted good." Jack muttered.

"Do you even know what you just ate?"

Without waiting for their response, Greco continued, "It's a Devil Fruit. It's grant whoever ate it a unique ability in exchange for the user inability to swim. Very rare here in East Blue, so it's sell really well. And you just went and ate it!" He shouted the last words.

"What? I don't feel any different." Muttered Jack.

"Maybe it's doesn't work for you?" He shot Jack a considering look. "Bah! Doesn't matter," said Greco. "Shoot them!" He ordered his men.

"Wait!" Exclaimed Stern. "It's just misunderstanding. We can expla-"

But, they didn't listening to him. The sound the guns made is thunderous.

Expecting pain, Jack surprised when he didn't feel a thing. Uncrossed his hands that he'd unconsciously raised to cover his face, he can see that in front of him, shielding him from the bullet, is a raised half-dome shaped pack of hardened earth.

Amazed, Jack exclaimed, "Holy shit! Stern, did you see- Stern!"

There, laying on a pool of his own blood, is Stern. His body is ridden with bullet holes. And his head- the right side of his head has a missing part on it, incidentally taking his right eye along with it.

"Nonono," approaching his friend, Jack kneeling, tears falling from his eyes. "Stern, wake up! Please! We don't even leave the island yet."

"You can't be dead." Jack lamented, still in denial.

But, alas, the dead can't talk and reassured the living.

"Please." Jack pleading, to whoever listening.

Greco, as soon as he getting his bearing back after seeing Jack's Devil Fruit ability, called out condescendingly.

"Heh, that's what you get if you crossed me, boy."

Even though he is wary of Jack's ability, he is confident that he can still win. After all, a lone kid versus two dozens grown up men? Not a chance for the kid.

Startled, Jack turned his head toward Greco. The anger in him surge to the forefront. His face twisted into a hateful is the man who killed Stern, and forcing them to work for him. And he killed Stern. Unforgivable.

With an incomprehensible scream, Jack leaped toward Greco. In his anger, he doesn't noticed that his hands morphed into hardened earth.

Not ready for such a move, Jack was able to get close before Greco can react.

With his morphed fists, Jack can throw a surprisingly strong punch. With just one blow to the face, Greco was sent flying.

Not giving him time to retaliated, Jack got on top of him and started to pounding his opponent's face in.

"Fuck, get him off of me!" Shouted Greco to his men.

The men that surrounding them rooted the place after seeing Jack's ability and his subsequent attack on Greco, but after they heard their boss order, they started to move and trying to pull Jack off of him.

But Jack just started to pound _their_ face in, instead.

They don't just stay still and let him do that, of course. A few of them try to shoot him, but the bullets didn't have any effect on him. They can see that the holes caused by the bullet closed on their own with noticeable speed and spit the bullets out.

After a few friendly fire, they wised up and started using close quarter weapon such as sword and knife. Some of them even used bat.

This is not any better, of course. Every time someone injured him, the area they hit just morphed into earth and shut closed after a few moments. At some point, they succeded to cut his hand off.

It's grow back.

One by one they fall and not long after that the ones that still standing started to flee.

Jack didn't go after them, mainly because the man that he wanted is here.

Picking up a gun that someone dropped, he approached his prey.

Greco is still conscious and trying to crawl away. His face is bloody and beaten to a pulp.

"Please," he plead after Jack's leather boots showed on his vision.

"You kill Stern," said Jack. "Fuck you."

The sound of gunshot is loud on the quiet clearing.

* * *

In the end Jack and- Jack didn't end up stealing any boat, after all.

It's not long after the commotion at Jack's place transgressed for the curious people of Redstone Town to come looking to find out what is going on with all that ruckus.

They found Jack stood alone amidst a field of strewn bodies. The gun that he'd used is still clutched in his hand. Many is still alive, in fact, the majority is just passed out. But some- some are just corpses. Mainly caused by stray bullets. But, that's wasn't what these people see.

There he stood, a young man, teenager really. A killer.

A few gasped and averted their gazes. Horrified- or disgusted- by the bodies. Mothers protect their children from the view.

Some cheers went up, having realized that Grecko is dead. The leader of the notorious gang that had oppressed them is dead. And with that, they're weakened. Like the saying, if you want to kill a snake, you had to cut it's head first. Maybe this time they could lock them up for good.

But Jack didn't care about any of that. His childhood friend is dead because of him. If he just waited to present his plan in a more discreet place. Or if he just agreeing to escape straightaway. Then maybe St- he would still be alive.

This, too, is the first time he'd ever killed anyone. He didn't regret having doing it, no. Greco killed his friend, after all. But, still, this is killing we're talking about.

The police officer of Redstone Town surged forward to handchuffed the unconscious gang member and to bring them to the prison. And to- to taking care of the bodies.

Jack walked off to the side so he doesn't impeded their work. Almost instantly, Jack was beset by the grateful crowd, asking him what happened.

Overwhelmed, he couldn't answer them even if he wanted to. Which he doesn't.

Untill someone has the bright idea of asking him what is it that he wanted as a compensation. Now that, that he can answer.

"Can I have a boat," he said. And just because, "Please?"

* * *

Before that, though, the police ushered him to their office to answered a few of their question. He answered what he could, not entirely honest of course. He fudge it here and there, enough to not make him convicted guilty of any charge.

In the end, they released him on the ground of him clearly just having defending himself.

After that, he went toward the dock where a considerable crowd has converged to show him his new boat and a party to send him off.

They'd given him a small fishing boat with a white sail fixed to it's mast. Small enough that it can be operated by only one person with help from oars and wind.

The mayor himself has come along with the crowd. "Don't you worry about your friend," he said, "We will bury him in the town's cemetery, properly."

Jack just inclined his head in thanks, but not saying anything. The loss is still too raw on his mind.

In a moment, he'd boarded the boat, untied the ropes fastened the boat to the dock, unfurled the sail and then sailed away to part unknown. Or wherever the wind might take him.

* * *

Out in the sea with nothing to do but fishing and watching out for land, Jack can't help but started to curiously experimenting with his newfound power. Out of boredom if nothing else. He'd already realized that from his previous fight every injuries that he'd suffered is regenerating by changing the affected area into earth. When he cut the palm of his hand, he found that he can willing it to close faster or slower, to an extent.

Another thing that he noticed is that he can also changed a part of his body into the element. But, after testing, it's became apparent that he can transform every part of his body. Even simultaneously. A fact that he testified by turning his whole body into soil.

Oddly enough, his clothes is also changed in conjunction with his body. But Jack is not going to started questioning something that worked to his favour. So, he leave that well enough alone.

He can also created the element itself. He can materialize it from every part of his body. Oh, and one other thing. He can freely manipulated his power. He can make it as hard as rock or as soft as mud. Or shaped it as he pleased.

As for manipulating the preexisting earth itself, it's seem so as can be attested by the half-dome shaped of hardened pack of earth that he conjured earlier in the fight against Greco.

But, he will try it again later when he is on land, just to be sure, Jack promised himself.

Jack will be the first person to tell you that he isn't an experienced sailor by any stretch of imagination, but he is lucky enough to had a smooth sailing so far. Still, it's took two days before he sighted a land.

Right on time to see pirates pillaging the town on the edge of it's coast.

And how does he know that it was pirates? Because Jack can also see a ship flying black sail with a skull wearing eye-patch crossed with bones painted on it docked on the land's shore.

Excitement shone on his eyes. Finally, something to fight.

His approach goes unhindered, thankfully. After tying his boat, Jack come to the side of the ship. It's plank is not lowered, so he has to make his own way to climb.

Luckily, he already got one. He simply materialized earth from under his feet and using it to push himself up.

When he goes over the railing, he noticed a few man lounging on the deck. Clearly, this is the ones who left behind to oversee the ship. How they can miss him, Jack can only guess that they're just too lazy to watcing out their surrounding.

But they can't miss a person launching himself over their ship's railing with earth, of all thing, sprouting out of his feet.

Scrambled for their weapons, one of them have enough time to let out, "Hey, who-" before Jack was upon them.

Curving his foothold and letting his momentum carry him forward, Jack came flying toward them with a fist bent over his head, hands already changing into earth.

The first person he set his eyes on got a faceful of a fist that is as hard as a rock, literally.

There's four of them, the one that Jack just punched is down, covering his bloody nose. "Fuck, get him!" He shouted to his friends as he get up himself. That one punch is not enough to take him out.

The other three that previously rooted to the place startled, and started advancing toward Jack, sword brandished.

Jack just smiled condescendingly at them, making them angrier.

"Haa!" One of them shouted, swinging his sword at him. His effort is futile, however. Because his sword just bounced off of Jack's hand.

The other two joined the first, swarmed him, thinking to get fast his defense through numbers. This way, they started making a headway. Cut criss-crossing Jack's body. But strangely, the wound doesn't produce blood.

And then, it's started closing.

Jack deliberately slowing down his regeneration. And it's earning him what he is intended.

When his opponent noticed this, they started to doubt. "Wha-what are you?" Stammered the first one.

Jack smirking cockily, "I'm-"

The sound of gunshot freezing him in place.

When Jack is busy fiighting the other three opponent, he'd not noticed that the one that he punched earliest had standing up, observing him.

As the fight progressed, his frustration grew. Nothing that his friend inflicted upon Jack stick. Not one. It's heal after a while. But, if cutting him doesn't work, then maybe, maybe, a bullet would.

So, he take out his gun, and shot him.

But luckily for Jack, his power worked on bullet wound. After calming himself, the wound started closing and spitting out the bullet.

Letting out a discreet sigh, Jack smirked and asked, "Want to try that again?"

A few bullets came from all four of them, one or two even managed to hit him in the head. It's only take a few seconds for Jack to be whole again, still smirking.

It was at this moment that his opponents realized their futile effort to beat Jack. They turn their backs to him and started running.

Losing his smirk, he spread his hands wide and spraying them with softened earth, mud really, that hardened immediately. It's cocooned them from neck to toe, leaving their head outside so they can breath.

Walking to their front and grinning from ear to ear, "Now," he began, _"Who _are _you _guys?"

* * *

Thought? Idea? Suggestion? Correction?


End file.
